June-July Period Research Articles

SARS-CoV-2 clearance in term of Cycle Threshold (Ct) during first two waves of COVID-19 in Pakistan: a phenomenon of delayed viral clearance post-corticosteroid treatment.

SARS-CoV-2 is recently emerged virus, which caused millions of deaths, all over the world. To tackle COVID-19 pandemic, there is an utmost need for in-depth analysis of viral replication. We aimed to examine viral load in SARS-CoV-2 patients during first two waves of COVID-19 in Pakistan. 225,615 suspected subjects from 75 different regions of Pakistan were selected in the study. SARS-CoV-2 RNAs were detected via real time PCR. During first wave (period of June-July, 2020) of COVID-19 the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 20.38%. However, during second wave (period of November-December, 2020) of COVID-19, the rate of prevalence was 9.41%. During first wave of COVID-19 96.31% of participants remained PCR positive for 14 to 21 days, 3.39% of subjects showed positive results for 22 to 35 days, while delayed Ct values were observed among 0.26% of participants for 36 to 49 days. However, during second wave of COVID-19 89.31% of the subjects exhibited symptoms and showed real-time PCR positive results for 14 to 21 days, 9.42% showed positive results for 22 to 35 days, while significantly delayed Ct value results were observed among 1.026% of participants for 36 to 63 days (3.95 times higher than first wave). In contrast to first wave of COVID-19, the factors that were different in second wave were neither viral (different strains) nor host (same population). But treatment factors changed significantly. As during second wave besides azithromycin, corticosteroid dexamethasone consumption was increased consequently causing delayed Ct value negativity. This suggests that corticosteroid treatment might be linked with delayed Ct value or viral clearance. This study is crucial for re-considering effective therapeutic options against COVID-19.

The Effect of Work Engagement on Emotional Labor: A Study on Teachers

Teachers are extremely valuable and sacred employees in terms of cultivating the precious works of all generations. It is considered as a pre-acceptance that teachers, who face many problems such as basic wages, work-family conflict, health problems and being appointed to civil service, are engaged about work throughout their careers. While feeling this engagement, how they come into contact with the concept of emotional labor is the focus of the research. In other words, do teachers reflect their feelings as they are despite problems, or do they behave as they should? In this context, the relevant research was applied to 192 teachers working in Trabzon in the period of June-July 2022 using the snowball sampling method and the data were collected by face-to-face survey technique. The data were interpreted within the framework of correlation and regression analyzes with the SPSS program. According to the obtained correlation analysis results; there is a significant and positive relationship (r=0.441, p

Effect of Community Education on Community Knowledge of Premature Rupture of Membranes

Premature rupture of membranes (PROM) is still a health problem with a reasonably high incidence among pregnant women in Indonesia. The PROM is defined as the rupture of membranes before signs of labor are observed. Better knowledge on the causes, signs, symptoms, and complications of PROM is believed to help in reducing maternal and infant mortality caused by PROM. This was a cross-sectional, analytic observational study conducted in Cipacing Village, Sumedang, West Java, Indonesia during the period of June-July 2022. . Community education was held to give better knowledge about PROM for women with an obstetric and gynecology specialist and fetomaternal consultant as the resource person. Total sampling was obtained from 62 women. Data were collection using pre-test and post-tests before and after the education session. The mean pre-test score was 6.48, while the mean post-test score was 7.96. A dependent T-test was used to determine the relationship between scores before and after the community education with a p-value of 0.0001. There was a significant increase in knowledge about PROM after the education session compared to before the session. This means community education is effective and impactful to increase the level of knowledge about PROM among women.

Mixed-species plantations alleviate deep soil water depletion and facilitate hydrological niche partitioning compared to pure plantations

Understanding the effects of different silvicultural patterns on soil water reservoirs and how silvicultural species adjust their water use strategies and plant function traits is critical to guiding future silvicultural activities toward the sustainable development of plantations. We continuously monitored soil gravimetric water content (SWC), soil and plant isotopes, leaf water potentials at predawn and midday (Ψpd and Ψmd), and plant morphological traits in pure Populus simonii tree plantations (PPs), pure Amorpha fruticose shrub plantations (PAf), and mixed P. simonii-A. fruticose plantations (Msf) during the 2021 growing season. The study showed that the average SWC of the deep layer (80–200 cm) was Msf > PAf > PPs. P. simonii in the Msf increased the water use proportion of the deep layer compared to that in the PPs, especially during the vigorous growth period of June-July, and shifted the major water use from shallow (0–40 cm) to deep layers on average. A. fruticose mainly used shallow soil water during the growing season. The leaf-level water use efficiency of the same species did not change in the Msf compared to that in the PPs or PAf. Based on the slope (σ) of the linear equation of Ψpd-Ψmd, P. simonii and A. fruticose exhibited isohydric (σ < 1) and an-isohydric (σ > 1) behavior under varying soil water conditions, respectively. The wood density was higher and specific leaf area (SLA) was lower in the PPs than in the Msf for P. simonii, while the ratio of stem sapwood area to leaf area was higher and SLA was lower in the PAf than in the Msf for A. fruticose. These findings reflected that mixed tree-shrub plantations alleviate deep soil water depletion compared to pure plantations, facilitate hydrological niche segmentation of co-occurring species, and reduce carbon investment in xylem and leaves to resist water stress and possibly devote more resources to growth.

ADMINISTRATION OF TETANUS TOXOID IMMUNIZATION TO PREGNANT MOTHERS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia impacts women's reproductive health services, including pregnant women services that meet the standard, namely the administration of TT immunization. Officers at the Community Health Center (Puskesmas) are more focused on controlling the spread of COVID-19. The problem that arises due to pregnant women who are not administered Tetanus Toxoid during pregnancy is the occurrence of tetanus in the mother and baby. Objective: To determine the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and support of MCH officers towards the administration of Tetanus Toxoid immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic at UPT PuskesmasPasundan, Garut Regency, for the period of June-July 2021.Method: Analytic observational with the cross-sectional approach. The study was conducted from June to July 2021. The population and research sample consisted of 50 people. A questionnaire was used as a research instrument.Analysis: Univariate to explain the research variables and bivariate analysis to explain the relationship between knowledge, attitudes of pregnant women, and the support of MCH officers in administering Tetanus Toxoid immunization during the covid-19 pandemic. Hypothesis testingused a statistical test, namely the Chi-Square test with SPSS 2013, and the significance level was 0.05. Results: Relationship between Knowledge and Administration of Tetanus Toxoid Immunization, p-value = 0.015 (p &lt; 0.05). Relationship between Attitude and Administration of Tetanus Toxoid Immunization, p-value = 0.0001 (P &lt;0.05). Relationship between support of MCH officers and Administration of Tetanus Toxoid immunization, p-value = 0.0001 (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: There is a relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and support of MCH officerstowards the administration of Tetanus Toxoid immunization. It illustrates that the presence of COVID-19 slightly interferes with the administration of TT immunization to pregnant women.Suggestion: It is important to make various efforts and ways to increase the coverage of TT immunization for pregnant women during the covid-19 pandemic.

Omega-3 fatty acid and B12 vitamin content in Baltic algae

Seaweeds have been gaining popularity in the Western world due to increased interest in alternative food sources and improving the nutritional profile and functionality of food products. This paper analyzed the omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and α-linoleic acid (ALA) and B12 vitamin content in the most common Baltic seaweeds. These nutrients have an important part in the human diet. Five seaweeds species (Fucus vesiculosus, Furcellaria lumbricalis, Cladophora glomerata, Pilayella littoralis and Ulva intestinalis) were sampled during April–May, June–July, and August–September. The fatty acids were determined by GC–MS whereas B12 content was analyzed by HPLC-UV. 16S rRNA amplification from community DNA and sequencing was carried out to evaluate B12 synthesizing microorganisms associated with the studied seaweeds. The results showed that F. vesiculosus (5.19 ± 0.32 mg/gDW) was the best source of EPA, followed by F. lumbricalis, C. glomerata, P. littoralis and U. intestinalis irresponsibly of sampling time. The ALA content had little variability between species (1.07–2.45 mg/ g DW). The B12 concentration varied across seasons, being generally lowest during the June–July period. The highest concentration of B12 across all three seasons was in C. glomerata samples (53.55 ± 9.69 μg/100gDW). The lowest B12 vitamin concentration was in F. vesiculosus (4.14 ± 0.36 μg/100gDW). 16S RNA amplicon analysis revealed a correlation between Cyanobacteria and EPA, while no correlation could be found between B12 neither on phyla nor family levels. B12 content in the samples was in correlation with 5 potentially B12 synthesizing bacteria species (Rhodobacter capsulatus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Pseudomonas putida, Xanthomonas oligotrophicus and Aeromonas hydrophila) although the abundance of corresponding OTUs did not exceed 1 %.

Function Consuming sebagai Tingkat Kecakapan Literasi Media Digital Masyarakat Yogyakarta

Digital competence is one of the skills for users in using digital media. Research on mapping the digital competence category of the people of Yogyakarta was carried out to know the media digital positioning competence of digital media users. The position of digital media user skills is categorized by the k-NN (k Nearest Neighbor) technique data mining method. The objective of this research using the k-NN technique data mining method was carried out by compiling categories that refer to attributions where the attribution refers to the ten competencies of Japelidi's digital media users. The digital media user skills category has four quadrants: Function Consuming, Function Prosuming, Critical Consuming, and Critical Prosuming. This research was conducted in Yogyakarta from June-July 2020 because, during this period, there was a surge in digital media users due to the pandemic. The findings in this research provide information that the competence of using digital media for Yogyakarta residents in the period of June-July 2020 is in the Function Consuming section, and it is in the first quadrant

Thermohaline Temporal Variability of the SE Mediterranean Coastal Waters (Israel) – Long-Term Trends, Seasonality, and Connectivity

The high variability of coastal waters together with the growing need for assessing the state of the marine coastal ecosystem, require continuous monitoring at exceptional resolution and quality, especially during the Anthropocene changing seas. We perform a comprehensive analysis of a decadal (March 2011 to June 2021) thermohaline variability of the East Levantine Basin (LB) coastal waters (continuous measurements), its predominating temporal trends and their linkage with atmospheric forcing and advection. We identify statistically significant long-term warming and salinification trends with yearly rates of 0.048°C and 0.006, respectively. Through the use of the X11-ARIMA method temperature and salinity inter-annual trends are examined and associated with previously published open ocean dynamics as well as model reanalysis. We study the linkage between Northern and Southern coastal locations, and identify the along shore northward current as a primary cause of positive temperature anomalies arriving from the south. The coastal salinity long-term trend demonstrates a connection to local precipitation. A less coherent seasonal sequence is found with a bimodal behavior, where, salinity values drop in August on several summers. This drop is attributed to the intensification of the along shore current in the period of June-July, potentially advecting more Atlantic Water. The observations presented here emphasize the relatively strong coupling between coastal water and the open ocean, the influence of the general surface circulation of the LB on the coastal zone and the faster response time and higher sensitivity of the coastal environment to atmospheric forcing.

Convalescent Plasma Therapy: The Early Use in Moderate to Severe COVID-19 Patients in Hospitals with Limited Resources

COVID-19 cases in Indonesia in the period of June-July 2021 showed a catastrophic spike. During this period, a recently discovered variant, the delta variant, appeared to be one of the sources of COVID-19 infection. Treatment modalities are limited due to reduced stock of drugs. A case of a 63-year-old man has been reported, with a history of having been vaccinated with two doses of Sinovac, experiencing moderate-to-severe symptoms of COVID-19 infection then given convalescent plasma therapy since his initial admission to the hospital. Three days after being given convalescent plasma therapy, the improvement was noticeable. Shortness of breath, cough, fever, and weakness were less complained. On the seventh day the patient fully recovered and got discharged. Convalescent plasma therapy was e ective in early stage and was able to improve outcomes. Indonesia needs sucient stocks of convalescent plasma as a therapy to overcome the limitations of medicines.

EFFECT OF AUTOGENIC RELAXATION TECHNIQUES ON ANXIETY LEVELS IN TRIMESTER III PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE WORK AREA OF KEMBANG MUMPO HEALTH CENTER

Anxiety is a feeling of not relaxing because of fear that is accompanied by a response. Treatment of anxiety that occurs in primigravida mothers can be done with non-pharmacological therapy, one of which is autogenic relaxation. The research objective was to study the effect of autogenic relaxation techniques on anxiety levels in third trimester mothers in the working area of ??the Kembang Mumpo Health Center. This type of research is pre-experimental, with a one group pre-test and post test design. The population in this study were 21 third trimester pregnant women at the end of the June-July period who experienced anxiety. Sampling in the study with a Purposive sampling technique, namely 10 people. The analysis technique used is the T-test statistical test. The results of the univariate analysis showed that the average anxiety level of third trimester pregnant women before autogenic relaxation techniques was performed was 24.7. The average level of anxiety of third trimester pregnant women after autogenic relaxation techniques was 18.8. The results of the bivariate analysis obtained the value of ?Value = 0.000 &lt;? (0.05). It was concluded that there was an effect of autogenic relaxation techniques on the anxiety level of third trimester pregnant women in the Kembang Mumpo Health Center Work Area. The results of this study are expected to incorporate autogenic relaxation techniques into the health workers' monthly activity agenda for handling anxiety in pregnant women. Especially for midwives, it is hoped that they will be able to equip themselves with various safe methods, namely relaxation. One of them is autogenic relaxation which is useful for helping midwives in overcoming client problems, especially pregnant women with anxiety.

Twitting the Public Sentiment on the Jakarta Online Zoning System

&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td valign="top" width="708"&gt;&lt;p&gt;In 2018, the zoning system policy began to be rolled out in the New Student Admissions system in Indonesia. Until now, it is still a topic of heated debate. The Jakarta Online Zoning System, for example, is one of the issues. This study investigates and analyzes the Jakarta Online Zoning System policy 2020 using the Noorderhaven theory of eight steps in the decision-making process. The goal is to observe and evaluate in-depth a policy. The data taken came from tweets on Twitter for the period of June-July 2020. Twitter was chosen because the latest topics were always discussed by the public. In addition, Twitter has an advanced search that serves as a means to retrace these topics. Data were analyzed through content analysis. From the results, it was found that the series of policies for the Jakarta Online Zoning System 2020 had applied the eight steps in the decision-making process technique. In addition, the internet has become a virtual community building medium that has great power to evaluate policy performance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Implications of Delayed Reopening in Controlling the COVID-19 Surge in Southern and West-Central USA.

In the wake of the rapid surge in the COVID-19-infected cases seen in Southern and West-Central USA in the period of June-July 2020, there is an urgent need to develop robust, data-driven models to quantify the effect which early reopening had on the infected case count increase. In particular, it is imperative to address the question: How many infected cases could have been prevented, had the worst affected states not reopened early? To address this question, we have developed a novel COVID-19 model by augmenting the classical SIR epidemiological model with a neural network module. The model decomposes the contribution of quarantine strength to the infection time series, allowing us to quantify the role of quarantine control and the associated reopening policies in the US states which showed a major surge in infections. We show that the upsurge in the infected cases seen in these states is strongly corelated with a drop in the quarantine/lockdown strength diagnosed by our model. Further, our results demonstrate that in the event of a stricter lockdown without early reopening, the number of active infected cases recorded on 14 July could have been reduced by more than 40% in all states considered, with the actual number of infections reduced being more than 100,000 for the states of Florida and Texas. As we continue our fight against COVID-19, our proposed model can be used as a valuable asset to simulate the effect of several reopening strategies on the infected count evolution, for any region under consideration.

Agricultural drought early warning from geostationary meteorological satellites: concept and demonstration over semi-arid tract in India.

Remote sensing data from Indian geostationary satellites (Kalapana-1, INSAT 3A) were used for the first time for early warning of agricultural drought and forewarning of crop vigour. An Early warning indicator (EWI) was developed from operational product of rainfall and reference evapotranspiration from observations of Kalpana-1 very high resolution radiometer (VHRR). The effectiveness of EWI was evaluated for the two drought years (2009 and 2012). The positive correlation (r = 0.66-0.68 for 2009 and r = 0.64-0.70 for 2012) between the EWI in the month of June-July and standardized precipitation index-1 (SPI-1) averaged over administrative unit (called district) indicates that EWI can be used successfully for drought early warning. Lag-response behaviour between EWI and crop vigour in terms of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and LAI (leaf area index) over cropland was studied. Systematic patterns emerged for 30days lag period between negative EWI and NDVI at both grid-scale (0.25°) and at district level. Linear relations were found between 10-day EWI and NDVI or LAI at 30days lag during June-July period. Linear models were developed to forewarn crop vigour which was validated with realized NDVI from INSAT 3A charge-coupled device (CCD) observations within 95% accuracy. The EWI is recommended as potential indicator for early-season agricultural drought assessment and can be used for sub-district scale with finer scale rainfall and evaporation products from advanced next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites.

Correlation between Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 Levels with Forced Vital Capacity and Modified Rodnan Skin Score of Patients with Restrictive Lung Disease in Diffuse-Type Systemic Sclerosis

Background Pulmonary fibrosis / intersitial lung disease (ILD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complicated restrictive pulmonary disease and the leading cause of disease-related mortality. Progressive skin fibrosis in diffuse-type SSc (dSSc) is associated with decreased forced vital capacity (FVC). Modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS) examination is used as a parameter to assess skin fibrosis, while high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are used to assess pulmonary fibrosis. The HRCT test remains as the gold standard in diagnosing ILD. However, it costs a lot and is not available in all healthcare facilities. Krebs Von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a biomarker to evaluate pulmonary fibrosis. The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation of serum KL-6 levels with FVC and mRSS value of patients with restrictive lung disease in dSSc.&#x0D; Method This was a cross-sectional study that used primary data from dSSc patients who visited rheumatology outpatient clinic in Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung, Indonesia, during the period of June-July 2019. History taking, physical examination, mRSS, spirometry, and serum KL-6 levels were performed. Data were analyzed using the Rank Spearman correlation test. &#x0D; Result There were 27 subjects with the mean age of 42 ± 12 years. Based on FVC (%) restrictive lung disease criteria, the majority of subjects (74.1%) had severe restrictive lung disease and the rest of all subjects (25.9%) were non severe restrictive lung disease. Serum KL-6 levels ranged from 0.545 to 8.138 ng/ml. The results showed that there was no correlation between serum KL-6 levels and FVC values (r = -0.118, p = 0.279) and mRSS (r = 0.101, p = 0.312 ).&#x0D; Conclusion There is no correlation between serum KL-6 levels with FVC and mRSS value of patient with restritive lung disease in diffuse type systemic sclerosis.&#x0D; Keywords : diffuse type systemic sclerosis, Forced Vital Capacity, KL-6, mRSS, restrictive lung disease.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Comparative study between natural, entomophilic and manual pollination in soursop (Annona muricata L.)

This research was carried out in the communities of Tonino and Divisadero municipality of Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico with the objective of studying the effect of natural, entomophilic and manual pollination of soursop fruits. Pollinations were carried out during the June-July period of 2017 (summer flowering). Which treatments consisted of the natural pollination that only perforated bagging was placed, The variables were: peduncle diameter, brush or strawberry diameter, percentage of yield, percentage of fruit fall, dynamics or general kinetics of growth variables and general behavior of loss and fruit fall. Percentage yield as it was low from 6 to 21% and this decreased as the evaluation time elapsed due to the fall in fruit. The fall of the fruit of the three treatments was considered to have a very important factor whereby they fell, the lack of coverage with fungicides or insecticides.

A study on self-care practices and dietary barriers among type 2 diabetes patients attending outpatient department in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi

Background: Diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose and is recognized as an important cause of premature mortality and morbidity. Self-care practice in diabetes patient is a critical factor to achieve glycaemic control thus in preventing or delaying its complications.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 140 type 2 diabetic patients attending the outpatient department in Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi during the period of June-July 2018. Diabetic patients diagnosed more than 3 months were included. Data was collected by interview method using pre-designed, pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire which consists of information on socio-demographic data, diabetic profile, self-care practices and dietary barriers. Statistical analysis was done using SSPS package.Results: This study showed that 67.9% of study participants were consuming diabetic diet, 17.1% practice exercise for more than 3 days a week, 93.6% were taking medication regularly, 15% practised foot care for &gt;3times a week and 89.3% monitored their blood glucose regularly. The main barriers for dietary practices were lack of knowledge (24%) and lack of motivation (18%). Compliance to diabetic diet was more among the urban population compared to rural (p=0.025).Conclusions: Study concludes that the practice of self-care activities was poor in almost all aspects except for blood sugar monitoring and adherence to medication which necessitates the need to create awareness regarding self-care practices and its importance among diabetic patients.

КЛИНИЧЕСКАЯ ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИЯ РЕЗУЛЬТАТОВ ФИБРО-, СТЕАТОСКАНИРОВАНИЯ ПЕЧЕНИ ПРИ ХРОНИЧЕСКОМ ГЕПАТИТЕ С

Background. Imaging of morphological hepatic alteration by fibroscanning is a promising method for diagnosing chronic stages of diffuse liver lesions. Objective – to present the results of fibro-, steatoscanning in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Materials and methods. Pilot (short-term) fibro-, steatoscanning of the liver was performed in 155 patients with CHC on the basis of “Grodno Regional Infectious Clinical Hospital” over the period of June-July 2018. The project was implemented with the support of “DELRUSEUROPEKff.” (France), that provided the equipment to perform the study within the time frame specified. The fibroscan “Ehosensens VCTEFibroscan 502” (France) was used for imaging. The parameters of liver stiffness (fibrosis) - E (kPa) and steatosis (CAP, dB / m) were studied. The probes were used for processing the data (XL, M, MyFibroScan application) as well as various proprietary methods of processing the findings of fibroscanning (P. Nahon et al.; F. Degos et al.; L. Castera et al., C.S. Pavlov et al., N. Afdahl et al.) and steatoscanning (M. Sasso et al.; T. Karlas et al.). Results. Fibrosis and steatosis of the liver are characteristic attributes of CHC reliably established by the method of fibro-, steatoscanning. The methods of processing the data have different diagnostic value, differ in the frequency of diagnosis of fibrosis stages and steatosis degree. According to various methods of processing the data of fibroscanning, the stage F0-1 is diagnosed in not less than 50% of patients, F2 is established in 15 - 30%, F3 – in 5 - 7%, F4 (cirrhosis) – in 8 - 15%. According to the methods by M. Sasso et al. and T. Karlas et al. steatosis of the liver is not detected (S0) in 37% and 62% of patients, respectively; the first degree of steatosis (S1) was diagnosed in 12-13%, the second (S2) in 34 and 8% (respectively), the third degree (S3) – in 16-20%. The method for assessing steatosis according to M. Sasso et al. is preferable, since it fixes steatosis of all degrees (from S0 to S3) as well as a decrease in the frequency of steatosis as liver fibrosis progresses from F0 to F4. The method by P. Nahon et al. is the most informative one in assessing fibrosis and the most relevant to clinical, laboratory and morphological indicators of fibrosis in patients with CHC. Conclusion. The introduction of the method of fibro-, steatoscanning into the programs of prophylactic medical examination of the population and patients with CHC will increase life expectancy due to early diagnosis of pre-cirrhotic stages of diffuse liver diseases of any etiology.

1H-NMR analysis of feces: new possibilities in the helminthes infections research

BackgroundAnalysis of the stool samples is an essential part of routine diagnostics of the helminthes infections. However, the standard methods such Kato and Kato-Katz utilize only a fraction of the information available. Here we present a method based on the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) which could be auxiliary to the standard procedures by evaluating the complex metabolic profiles (or phenotypes) of the samples.MethodThe samples were collected over the period of June-July 2015, frozen at −20 °C at the site of collection and transferred within four hours for the permanent storage at −80 °C. Fecal metabolites were extracted by mixing aliquots of about 100 mg thawed stool material with 0.5 mL phosphate buffer saline, followed by the homogenization and centrifugations steps. All NMR data were recorded using a Bruker 600 MHz AVANCE II spectrometer equipped with a 5 mm triple resonance inverse cryoprobe and a z-gradient system.ResultsHere we report an optimized method for NMR based metabolic profiling/phenotyping of the stools samples. Overall, 62 metabolites were annotated in the pool sample using the 2D NMR spectra and the Bruker Biorefcode database. The compounds cover a wide range of the metabolome including amino acids and their derivatives, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), carboxylic acids and their derivatives, amines, carbohydrates, purines, alcohols and others. An exploratory analysis of the metabolic profiles reveals no strong trends associated with the infection status of the patients. However, using the penalized regression as a variable selection method we succeeded in finding a subset of eleven variables which enables to discriminate the patients on basis of their infections status.ConclusionsA simple method for metabolic profiling/phenotyping of the stools samples is reported and tested on a pilot opisthorchiasis cohort. To our knowledge this is the first report of a NMR-based feces analysis in the context of the helminthic infections.

Loranthus ligustrinus – A causal factor for Khasi mandarin (Citrus reticulata Balnco.) decline in Arunachal Pradesh

A survey was conducted in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India during the period 2013-2014 for the identification of Loranthus species infesting the Khasi mandarin orchards in this region. Study on its habit, mode of seed dispersion, host plants, its life cycle and its management in different sites of East Siang district was conducted. It is identified that the Loranthus species as Helixanthera ligustrina ( Loranthus ligustrinus ) which flowers during the month of April - May and the seed dispersal is mainly done by two birds viz ., Plain flowerpecker and Fire breasted flowerpecker in June-July period. The study also revealed that it is one of the main problems causing Khasi mandarin decline by lowering down its yield and productivity and finally killed the plant after 4-5 years of infestation. This parasitic weed is slowly spreading to other nearby orchards and needs emergency attention for the citrus grower.

Evolution of Hydrochemical Parameters and Quality Assessment of Groundwater in Tirupur Region, Tamil Nadu, India

Groundwater is the most widely distributed resource of the Earth and groundwater quality evolves rapidly as it passes through the subsurface pathways within the unsaturated zone. Increasing urbanization and anthropogenic activities have added to the problem of deficient amount of good quality groundwater. The study area is an industrial hub for textile sector. Textile production, particularly dyeing and bleaching, is essentially water intensive and so it generates large quantities of effluents and the practice of discharging untreated industrial waste into the river courses. To assess the evolution of hydrochemistry and quality, sixty two groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for the physicochemical factors such as pH, EC, TDS, TH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3-, CO32-, Cl-, NO3- , SO42- and F‌- during the pre-monsoon period of (June-July) 2006, 2008 and 2011. By using Piper trilinear diagram, hydro chemical facies were identified. Gibb’s diagram suggests that the chemical weathering of rock-forming minerals and evaporation influence the groundwater quality. The study area was evaluated for the parameters: Sodium Adsorption Ratio, Residual Sodium Carbonate, Salinity and Permeability Index. Interpretation of these hydro chemical parameters indicates that the groundwater in most of the locations in the study area is not suitable for drinking purpose and for irrigation. However, permeability index values indicate that most all the groundwater samples are suitable for irrigation purpose.